Articles on Police Practices & Procedures

Not long after I promoted to sergeant, I was training in a patrol division. I was riding with another sergeant when we received a call from two patrol officers. They were at an apartment complex and had chased a male into an apartment. They requested a supervisor go by with them. So, as part of my training, we went.

I have read a number of books, studies, and court cases in my career to support the fact that eyewitness identification, by itself, is never sufficient enough to send a person to prison. This is not news. Over the past 20 years, more and more people are being exonerated for violent crimes due to DNA . This article is not to rehash old arguments. Instead, it is more of a reminder to investigators everywhere to not finalize a case, charge a person, and send them to prison based solely on an eyewitness' identification.

This article will focus on how to research FBI policies and procedures for the operation of informants. These documents are available to the public through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIPA). Researching FBI records can be very difficult and frustrating since many of the records are not searchable once you find the record you desire. Lawyers who need help researching these records may find that it is more cost effective to hire an expert to find the information they need.

False allegations are seen in several types of cases and are very problematic for police since extensive investigation must be conducted to corroborate the victim's allegations. A great deal of resources can be wasted in these investigations since the alleged crime never took place. One study indicated that false rape allegations constituted 41% of all forcible rape cases in one police department. There are indicators of false allegations that may help police and experts determine whether a crime took place.

On November 5, 2010, Superior Court Judge Hon. Robert Perry sentenced former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle to two years in state prison for the January 1,2009, accidental shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant at the Fruitdale BART station.